LaHood blogs about US DOT bike commuters

On his blog, the Fast Lane, Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood blogged about US DOT bike commuters, and one in particular.

Tom [Dorset] is in his late-ish 60s, works for our Federal Railroad Administration, and commutes the 10 miles to work (and 10 back) by bicycle.

If you talk to any bicycle commuter long enough, you'll hear a cautionary story about a car whose driver didn't notice the bicyclist nearby and executed a turn or failed to yield a right of way, causing a collision or near-miss. The thing about Tom is that in telling a couple of these tales, his key point is not that cars need to be more aware of bikes--though they do--but that bicyclists need to guard against their own "laser vision."

"We get a lot of support in finding the best routes," he says, "through the DOT Bicycle Commuters Group."

This group consists of about 80 people who meet monthly to share information and come up with ways that DOT can provide more support for its bicycle commuters. Run by Gabe Rousseau, they have a listserv, a mentors program for new bike commuters, a buddy program--bikes are more easily noticed by drivers when they're in pairs--and a useful set of webpages.

Comments

[SJE]

Good for Tom and LaHood. Its amazing that riding 10 miles there and back is considered some amazing feat. I the same looks when I take the stairs up 2 floors.

This country is so car focused and sedentary that people cannot conceive of actually riding or walking anywhere. Its a problem: there is a real mental and physical barrier that most people cannot concieve of travelling more than 1000 ft without motorized assistance.

[Washcycle]

I think 10 miles by bike is pretty good. Any thing over half an hour puts you above the average commute time for DC. So unless you can average 20mph the whole way you've got a longer than average commute. Of course, you don't have to go to the gym (or at least you can skip the cardio).

[SJE]

I think 10 miles is pretty good, but it saddens me that it is considered beyond the reach of most people.